US to bypass the 1267 Committee in order to list Masood Azhar as a global terrorist

In yet another diplomatic victory for India, the US has moved a fresh resolution against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief, Maulana Masood Azhar subjecting him to an arms embargo, travel ban and the freezing of his assets. This is a significant move which not only further isolates the terrorist country of Pakistan but also mounts pressure on China.

After the JeM carried out the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan faced extensive diplomatic backlash from countries across the world. The international community severely criticised Pakistan for actively sponsoring and manufacturing cross-border terrorism. Several proposals were initiated to designate Maulana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The US, UK and France also supported this move time and again. However, China has been repeatedly blocking every attempt to list the Maulana as a global terrorist under the purview of the 1267 Committee of the Security Council. At various points, China has justified this move by taking recourse to procedural technicalities. The most frustrating part here is that barring China, every country in the UNSC is in favour of listing Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

The US taking the public vote route over the issue of listing Azhar as a global terrorist is being seen as a massive diplomatic push against Pakistan. In fact, it is for the first time that the 1267 Committee will be bypassed. Now, that the US has stepped up the heat and taken the public vote route, China does not have the option of taking the excuse of procedural technicalities. China will have to take a stand, it will have to either agree to the proposal to ban the Jaish e Mohammed chief, Maulana Masood Azhar or state in unambiguous terms that it supports Azhar. It must be noted that earlier the Chinese envoy had avoided listing the Maulana as a global terrorist by stating, “As to the listing of an individual, we have always upheld an earnest, responsible and professional manner. We always acted in accordance with the requirement of the situation. We will continue to maintain close communication with India and relevant parties on this issue”.

China cannot afford to be seen as a country which backs and supports a terrorist out of self-interest. China has its own reasons for not backing the move to designate Maulana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The 46 billion dollar investment China made on the CPEC project will not be secure if it goes with listing Azhar as a global terrorist. The Islamic extremists also have an influence over Uyghur Muslim community living in Chinese province of Xinjiang. The major interest of China in shielding Azhar remains economic. More than 5 lakh Chinese nationals will be living in Gwadar Port city by 2022 and given the influence and capabilities Azhar has in the region, China does not wish to go against him.

It is clear that the US move will put China in a fix. China has its own interests to safeguard due to which it has been continuously blocking every possible attempt to list the Pakistan based JeM chief as a global terrorist. However, this time around the stakes are higher; China will have to take a clear stand because it won’t have the option of hiding behind the veil of procedural technicalities. Even if China decides to stand by the JeM chief, it will have to entail higher costs for doing so. China will have to take an active stand and it would mean that the country will expose itself as backing Pakistan-based terrorism. This big development is therefore, a win-win situation for India and for every other country which has taken up the mantle of battling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.